This title tells the story of Octavian, a shy and scholarly youth of 19
who, on the death of his great uncle Julius Caesar, suddenly finds himself heir
to the vast power of the Roman Empire. The author builds the narrative on
historical research, using fictional letters, memoranda and dispatches.Augustus tells the story of Octavian, a shy and scholarly youth of nineteen
who, on the death of his great-uncle, Julius Caesar, suddenly finds himself
heir to the vast power of the Roman Empire. He is destined to rule that world
astonishingly well, given the odds and intrigues against him. He would later be
known as Augustus Caesar (63 B.C. - 14A.D.), the first Roman emperor. Through
the use of fictional letters, memoranda and dispatches, we see how Augustus
established his essential base of power and how he was continually obliged to
put down, by a subtle combination of force and guile, the challenges of such
men as Cicero, Brutus, Cassius and, finally, Mark Antony. The narrative mosaic
John Williams has built on impeccable historical research brings Augustus
vividly to life. Williams invests his characters with such profound humanity
and treats them with such terrible honesty and compassion that we enter into
their very lives and times.
